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/sci/ - Science & Math

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6153142 No.6153142[DELETED]  [Reply] [Original]

Why do so many people believe in a God and an afterlife?
Any scientific explanation for this?

>> No.6153147

Can you disprove it? No? Can you prove it? No? Damn, sounds like either opinion doesn't hold enough ground to hold a solid decision with. It's all opinionated because nobody will ever know which is true, why does it matter? Withhold judgement, that's what Bertrand Russell preached

>> No.6153149

I don't know about God but many people have seen spirits or ghosts which gives more credibility to the idea of an afterlife.

>> No.6153153

>>6153149

>implying this information is in any way valid
>thinks these sources of seen ghosts and afterlife are creditable

no, people believe in afterlives if they have trouble coping with death and the idea of non-existence after life. It's irrational thought produced through fear. That doesn't necessarily mean that it doesn't exist, but that's likely the reason people choose to believe that it does

>> No.6153157

Modern 'aliens' answering questions:
Q: What is the nature of the human capacity for belief?
A: Automatic pattern recognition software run amok.

>> No.6153164
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6153164

>>6153147
'It is not unscientific to make a guess, although many people who are not in science think it is. Some years ago I had a conversation with a layman about flying saucers — because I am scientific I know all about flying saucers! I said “I don’t think there are flying saucers”. So my antagonist said, “Is it impossible that there are flying saucers? Can you prove that it’s impossible?” “No”, I said, “I can’t prove it’s impossible. It’s just very unlikely”. At that he said, “You are very unscientific. If you can’t prove it impossible then how can you say that it’s unlikely?” But that is the way that is scientific. It is scientific only to say what is more likely and what less likely, and not to be proving all the time the possible and impossible. To define what I mean, I might have said to him, "Listen, I mean that from my knowledge of the world that I see around me, I think that it is much more likely that the reports of flying saucers are the results of the known irrational characteristics of terrestrial intelligence than of the unknown rational efforts of extra-terrestrial intelligence." It is just more likely. That is all."

>> No.6153167

Why do people believe stories about UFO sightings?

>> No.6153174
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6153174

>>6153164
10/10

>> No.6153173

>>6153164

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Russell%27s_teapot

>> No.6153184

yes

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dbh5l0b2-0o

>> No.6153192

>>6153149
I would take those testimonials with a huge grain of salt. Most of the time, there is a very rational explanation for what they saw. They just choose to believe that they "were chosen" by said ghosts or whatever and this makes them feel special. However, just because something makes you feel good, doesn't suddenly make it a fact.

>> No.6153201

Hope

>> No.6153237

>>6153149
>implying that counts as evidence
if you have the time, watch this (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dCfYwVVPMcg).). Yes, it's not exactly scientific, but it shows how easily misled people can become.

>> No.6153243

Faith.

>> No.6153250

Because life kind of sucks and the Idea of something after it sounds good to alot of people I guess if you Don't believe in God

But from a more logical viewpoint eventually you have to realize that there must be something more then just what is all things are just a reaction of another force so eventually somewhere up the line there had to be a creating source

>> No.6153269

Many people have experienced 'wonders' or atleast things they cant explain/tought impossible
Well what are you doing in an experiment? You think whats the best answer to that

>> No.6153279

>>6153142
>Why do so many people believe in a God and an afterlife?

I actually think hardly anyone does, deep down, since just about everyone is still afraid of death.

>> No.6154010

No one ever mentions the fact that christianity was forced upon people, it was either you accept the belief or were burnt. This culture existed every where for thousands of years. Ofcourse enforcing a fact by force is ridiculous, but it made them the most powerful men in the world.

>> No.6154017

>>6153243
>Faith.
Right, but why do people believe anything on faith? Most things do not get believed on faith, so God seems somewhat special there. Thus OP's question remains: why do people believe in God (on faith or otherwise)?

>> No.6154018

>>6153279
>I actually think hardly anyone does, deep down, since just about everyone is still afraid of death.
There are perhaps subtler reasons to suspect many people's belief in the afterlife is less sincere or at least in some way less visceral than other beliefs, but I don't think fear is a good one. Many people are afraid of cockroaches despite being fully aware that they pose no threat.

>> No.6154021

>>6154010
But even the large majority of people who were not Christian at the time believed in one or more gods, and this ha been the case all over the world throughout history. It is certainly not the case that everyone believed in god, and there were some cultures where gods were different or less relevant, but it's a pretty pervasive archetype. Even distant, unrelated civilizations in such places as Siberia, Mesoamerica, and Pacific islands had their own sets of revered magical beliefs.

I think it is clearly a phenomenon that deserves an explanation whether or not you are personally religious.

>> No.6154027

Well, there's this idea floating around that the human mind begins to perceive a disconnect between the physical and the mental around the same time that the conception of the self begins to occur. So, from childhood on we've got this illusion that our mind is a distinct entity driving around some kind of meat mecha. That combined with our bias towards pattern recognition probably gave birth to the idea of gods and spirits pretty far back.

>> No.6154033

>>6154017
Romantic love deals in faith.

>> No.6154044

My idea is that its a coping mechanism having to due with the mind being self aware. We realize we are individuals and well die and this makes no sense to us.

Or it didn't make sense.

Some people need that warm embrace and explanation that religion gives, even if it is a crock of shit. Science can't tell you what to make of life, just explains how everything happens

>> No.6154047

>>6154033
>Romantic love deals in faith.
But relationships are built on a long history of earned trust. You're not supposed to believe your spouse just for the sake of it but because your history with him or her. If my wife cheats on me repeatedly, I will no longer have "faith" in her. So it's not the same thing at all.

>> No.6154061

>>6154047
Unless you can literally foresee the future, it's still faith

>> No.6154062

>>6154061
>Unless you can literally foresee the future, it's still faith
By that definition, all expectations are "faith." Obviously that's not what people here mean.